Monthly Archives: April 2015

Background:

I took part in a ‘children’s TV’ themed swap a while ago, and when my beautiful box arrived it was all themed around Bagpuss. Included was some beautiful dyed roving in delicate shades of pink and hints of purple, with white flashes of silk. It was an absolute dream to spin.

Story:

I don’t have many pink memories.

I was born in the 70s.

My childhood was orange and brown.

Orange and brown, hand-me-down clothes and classic kids’ TV.

Fingerbobs, Flumps, Let’s Pretend and Bagpuss.

The Saggy Old Cloth Cat, with his mouse comrades, his musical toad, Mother Madeleine the story-teller and the gloriously pedantic woodpecker.

Status: Sold

It’s been a busy week of preparation for my first market night, and one thing people have started to ask about is my hard-working spinning wheel.

My wheel is the Ashford Joy. When I first looked at wheels back in 2012 I had some very specific needs. Firstly, I needed my wheel to be small, ideally it would be something I could fold up and put away each evening. The houses and flats we’ve shared as a family have been pretty small, and much as I’d love my own workspace, it’s just not possible for the forseeable future. So I work in our living space and need equipment that can be quickly and easily put away.

Secondly, due to the residential training I am undertaking, I travel a lot. I like the option of taking my wheel as not only do I always take at least one (usually more!) fibre project to my training weekends, but the type of training I do involves studying one’s everyday activities, and bringing more practical intelligence into the way one carries out these activities. Given that I spend a lot of time engaged in fibre-related crafts, it makes sense to study my movements during these activities and put into practice the training that will help me to perform in the most mechanically economical way. So, a light and easily transportable wheel would be ideal.

The Joy ticks all those boxes and more. Starting from the bottom, the Joy comes with the option of either single or double treadle, which seems to depend upon the spinner’s personal preference. The treadle system and the base of the wheel are hinged, fold easily when desired, and can be locked in place in either the folded or unfolded configuration. The built-in drive wheel and whorl system offer four different spinning ratios* – 6:1, 8:1, 11:1 and 14:1, which are easily selected by placing the stretchy drive band in the appropriate grooves around the circumference of drive wheel and whorl. The Joy comes with the standard sliding-hook flyer and 3 bobbins. As an extra it is possible to purchase the jumbo flyer and bobbin for spinning super bulky art yarns. The bobbin is tensioned using a simple scotch tension system which is easily adjusted. There is a built-in orifice hook and built-in holders for two bobbins which, at a pinch, can be used as a lazy kate. Finally, the portability is further enhanced by the built-in carry handle at the top of the wheel, and by the optional carry bag which keeps the Joy protected, dust-free, and ready to transport instantly.

The only other thing I can say about the Joy is that it is very, very appropriately named!

Status: Gifted / Won

Background:

This was another experimental skein, barely more than a mini-skein, made from some left-over merino single plied back on itself from a centre-pull ball. The dyed fibre came to me as a gift from a dyer who was experimenting with her own process. In return, it has been gifted back to that artist so that she can see what her fibre looks like when brought to life as yarn. Spinning this fibre was more like spinning a carded preparation, and the resulting yarn is light and airy, and unbelievably soft. It was in fact so light that it fooled me into thinking is must be ‘4-ply’ or at least sports weight, but no. Repeated WPI measurement revealed it to be DK. I was just unused to a DK yarn feeling so light in my hands.